On Self Realization

What is consciousness? Is it soul, or a connection with infinity, or is it something to do with our mental condition, or is it the Self?

This should be a question in the mind of all thinking people. These questions can be pondered by laymen and scientists. The dictionary depicts the meaning in some way, but is the described meaning complete, since people in different states of consciousness see the answer in accordance with their present state of awareness.

What is consciousness according to the Vedas and Yoga?

First let us ask, what is the nature of the mind, how is the mind reflected from a deeper point of consciousness, and above all, who are we in our real being? What is our true identity or true Self behind the endless dream of thoughts going on inside us?

Vedanta teaches that everything is consciousness. Life is consciousness in contrast to New Thought Philosophy and Science of mind teachings.

Ernest Holmes the founder of Science of Mind defines consciousness as follows: ‘Mental awareness, consciousness  is both objective and subjective. Objective consciousness is a state of conscious awareness of both decision and discrimination, both inductive and deductive. Subjective consciousness is reactive to the objective world. It is creative, but not discriminatory. It is conscious, but it is not self conscious. It has no reflective or discriminative faculty. Consciousness can be changed; it can be cultivated from sadness to joy.

Objective consciousness changes subjective consciousness. This is how Spiritual Mind Treatment works. Consciousness creates from the unseen to the seen.

Subjective consciousness is the female principle, it is feeling and belief, it is a creative medium that accepts what objective consciousness puts into it. It also perpetuates. Life is consciousness, because it is creative. To create, both the masculine and feminine is needed.

Life is ruled by cause and effect. Cause is objective and subjective consciousness. The creative person is objective thought, subjective in belief, yielding to a physical effect.

When we don’t use our power of choice, our ability to reason, we chose to live unconsciously, just existing, letting old beliefs, old ways of thinking take their course and let others do their thinking and creating for us. Living unconsciously is letting the subconscious express what is already in it, - the past.

New Thought Spiritual leader, Emmet Fox

The key to life is the key to live consciously. Life is a state of consciousness. That is the beginning and the end. That is the final step in Meta Physics – you are and you do in accordance with your consciousness.

There are other ways of looking at life, which are superficially correct, but ultimately the truth is that our life is a state of consciousness. The whole of our life is an expression of consciousness. We see the effect of our conscious state. In other words, by our deeds shall you be known. People are trying to change outer conditions but leaving their consciousness unchanged, and it cannot be done."

Psychology

In Psychology the mind is our real consciousness. Science also identifies mind with consciousness and mind as a function of the brain, equating thinking with awareness. “I think therefore I am” – Rene Descartes.

Yoga view of the mind 

The yogic concept of the mind is based on meditation and inner experience, rather than on outer experimentation. It attempts to understand the mind through introspection, turning the mind within, rather than analyzing outer mental patterns. It encourages one to observe the mind, rather than follow its reaction. It teaches the process of perception and how it conditions us, rather than merely to examine our memories.

Mind is a broad based sense called Chitta in Sanskrit. It is one of four aspects of the human mind; the other three are buddhi (intelligence), manas (conscious mind) and Ahamkara (ego).

Chitta is the mind stuff or vast data warehouse where all the past memories, images, thoughts, feelings, desires, emotions, samskaras and other forms of impressions of an individual remain stored.

Chitta extends beyond the personal mind; it extends to the cosmic mind principle. Mind and consciousness are two different powers.

Yoga is identified with Chit, pure consciousness. Pure consciousness is also known as Purusha, Self, Spirit. It is our inner being. Mind is the inner instrument of thinking and sensing on several levels. Mind gets its light from the Purusha (Self, Spirit); it has no light of its own.

Personal psychology reflects the condition of the mind, as the personal tendencies in man. The mind is a product of time and outer experience, the mind is qualified according to the gunas (attributes of nature). Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three Gunas or qualities of the Chitta (mind stuff). Sattva is its inherent quality. Chitta is born of Sattva Guna. But when it mixes with Rajas and Tamas, all the worldly taints manifest. Sattva is purity, light or knowledge.

Our true Self, the Purusha does not have a psychology, because it is the witness outside of time. This implies that if we go past psychology or mind, we can go past all material suffering. This is why we need to raise our awareness to the inner consciousness beyond the mind and its dualities, the movement from Chitta to Chit; to Self knowledge in yoga – liberation of consciousness.

When we talk about self knowledge according to the personal mind, we are mainly referring to our own history and inclinations.

But Self knowledge consists of awareness beyond thought and personal history. Self knowledge consists of being and not of thoughts and emotions. It is a state of Being, not an event. Our inner being is a state of openness, of surrender which brings us into a state of peace.

To reach our inner peace we need to let go of our personal history and dive into the great unknown within. From this point of view, there is no personal history that could define us. We can only be our Self. In being our Self, we become one with all beings – we see mind as an instrument to be used or not be used. The inner being is beyond time and space, birth and death, mind and body.

To truly know our Self is to know this inner being which is the same in all. In that awareness the mind becomes quiet and the personal self loses its relevance. It is as when the sun is shining, we no longer notice the moon. The reality is self-evident, one merges into the experience only.

The yogi says: ‘I am that, I am’.

Now we can see what Self Realization is. I am that which is, that which was and that which will be. I am therefore I can think, It is this I which is neither me, nor you. We can say it is God. But it is not the God of any belief; it is the Divine Being that is the being of all. It is existence of all, it is the ground in which all pain and suffering disappears.

We have reached the goal of yoga as the inner Self or Purusha. Self knowledge is the most important goal in life. Our true Self is beyond, beyond body and mind.

In general people think of realizing the Self as developing their inner potential, which is fine, but we need to go much beyond that.

True consciousness is not the embodied mind, which is conditioned consciousness.

True consciousness is a universal principle. We need to move from personal limited consciousness to universal consciousness where the universal consciousness enlightens the mind. For such realization the mind plays an important role. The mind can be instrumental for bondage or liberation, ignorance or enlightenment. If we turn the mind toward the external world, it becomes attached to the perceptions. If we turn it inward, it slows down and comes to reflect a higher reality.

For this, the mind needs to become one-pointed, where seer and seen become one. A fragmented mind cannot turn within. We need to immerse the mind into the inner being.

Mind knowledge is thought based; it wants detailed information, opinion, ideal, theories, formulae etc.

Our inner being has a special knowledge. By identity it is not colored by the mind and names and form. True knowledge comes when the mind is at rest.

How do we reach this inner Self? We need to go from mind to being. It is to rest in silence and peace, the place where no thoughts, opinions, believes or conclusions exist. We reach that inner experience, where no words can go, where one becomes at the same time everything and nothing.

If we try to understand consciousness through the mind, we fall into spiritual ignorance; we wrongly identify our true being with our outer being.

We need to discriminate between mind and consciousness. We need to learn to be the seer or witness of the mind. We practice meditation to empty the mind of its conditioning to allow us to rest in our true nature.

The physical universe was created from consciousness. The Infinite originally created three aspects of Itself, thought, feeling and motion. Thought and feeling are intertwined and set into motion. This is the source of creativity that helps us to experience our own unique potential.

We are expressions of the Infinite, as It experiences Itself from all possible viewpoints. The way we can serve the Self and the Cosmic being, the source within us all, is to live our life according to our personal highest potential. Different people are programmed by the choice they made in life to explore different ways in manifesting their potential. We all have the freedom of choice. By design, there is no one alike in the entire universe. The world needs us and the service we will offer as we help people in our own unique way.

When we feel the Cosmic Being, holding the Universe within manifestation and preserving all of life within it in love, we sense what our ultimate potential really is, the being one with the One.

So deep inside we are yearning for unity. It is love that fills space; it is consciousness that keeps the universe together.